Saina Nehwal is the first Indian badminton player to win an Olympic medal. The Indian athlete made history by winning the bronze medal at the London Games in 2012. The Haryana journeyman started turning heads early in his career when he won the BWF World Junior Championship in 2008. In the same year, he made his debut at the Beijing Olympics, but it was only in London 2012 that he did. gained worldwide fame. Born on March 17, 1990, Saina Nehwal started playing badminton at the age of eight after her family moved to Hyderabad from Haryana. His introduction to the sport was due to his lack of knowledge of the local language and the desire to pursue his mother’s dream, who was herself a state badminton player. The Indian athlete made it big by representing India at the highest level in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics.
On her way to becoming the first Indian woman to reach the quarterfinals at an Olympic Games, maiden Saina Nehwal defeated then international Wang Chen of Hong Kong before defeating Indonesian Maria Kristin Yulianti in the quarterfinals of the Beijing 2008
Classic games from Saina Nehwal’s extraordinary career
Tough win for Saina Nehwal: 2006 Philippine Open quarter-final
Saina Nehwal had a breakthrough year in 2006.
He represented India in the 2006 Commonwealth Games under national team coach Vimal Kumar and won the U-19 national championship that year. But the highlight was his victory at the Philippine Open, making him the youngest Asian player to win a four-star badminton event at the time.
16-year-old Saina Nehwal recorded several upset wins in the tournament, but the most important was her quarter-final win over Xu Huaiwen – the world No. 4 seed at the time.
Beijing 2008 quarterfinal Olympic heartbreak
At 18, in her first Olympics, Saina Nehwal is turning heads.
He qualified for the quarterfinals with an amazing performance, including a come-from-behind victory against former Asian Games gold medalist Wang Chen. In the 15th quarter, he met the Indonesian Maria Kristin Yulianti – his five years.
The first game turned out to be a siege affair. Yulianti took an early lead but Saina Nehwal hit seven volleys to work her way back into the match and take the lead.
The Indian missed the match point but kept his composure and took the marathon 28-26. Yulianti equalized after winning the second game 21-14 to set up the decider.
In three games, Saina Nehwal took an 11-3 lead after a good attacking display, but change of sides and fatigue halted her pace. Yulinati took full advantage and won the game 21-15, in the match.
“I don’t know what happened. I might have made a lot of mistakes. I will be more prepared next time. I will have more experience,” young Saina Nehwal promised after her defeat.
He fulfilled his promise by winning bronze at the Games four years later in London, but never forgot his exit in Beijing.
Final of the 2009 Indonesia Open, a Jakarta classic.
In the 2009 Indonesia Open Super Series, Saina Nehwal broke the ceiling again.
It was an era of uninterrupted Chinese dominance in women’s badminton, with Saina Nehwal’s win making her only the fifth non-Chinese player and the first Indian to win a Super Series women’s singles title during that time. In fact, Saina Nehwal was the only non-Chinese car in the final four and put up a tough fight against Lu Lan in a tough semi-final.
Results achieved by Saina Nehwal
2008 Junior World Championship (champion)
Among her many firsts, Saina became the first Indian woman to win the Badminton World Junior Championship in 2008, held in Pune.
The event’s top seed, Saina defeated Japanese contender Sayaka Sato 21-9 21-18 in convincing fashion in the match, which lasted just 25 minutes. Her performance was convincing, during the event, and her former coach Pullela Gopichand said that Saina played like a champion during the tournament.
The finals of this year’s All England Tour were heartbreaking for badminton fans across India due to Saina’s failure. The whole country expected Saina to win the title for the first time in 14 years, when her coach Gopichand won the title in 2000. Saina also started as a favorite as she had won three matches against the Spaniard last season.
World Champion Carolina Marin returns from Spain. when the Hyderabad girl won first. “I was completely blown away by the match,” Nehwal said after the match
Final (runner-up) at all England Tour
The finals of this year’s All England Tour were heartbreaking for badminton fans across India due to Saina’s failure. The whole country expected Saina to win the title for the first time in 14 years, after her coach Gopichand won the title in 2000. Saina also started as a favorite as she had won three matches against the Spaniard last season.
World Champion Carolina Marin returns from Spain. when the Hyderabad girl won first. “I was completely blown away by the match,” Nehwal said after the match.